- Derfor møtte Clubhouse «Den kinesiske brannmur»

Fri Feb 12 2021 15:27:43 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Heretter blir det mindre gøy å være finansminister

Fri Feb 12 2021 15:26:07 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Online workspace startup Notion hit by outage, citing DNS issues

Fri Feb 12 2021 15:20:54 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Notion, the online workspace startup that was last year valued at over $2 billion, is currently offline after a DNS outage knocked the site off the internet.

The collaborative online office and document service was not loading as of around 9am ET on Friday, preventing anyone who relies on the service from accessing their cloud-stored data.

In a since-deleted tweet, Notion asked if “any users have a contact at Name.com,” the web host that Notion relies on for its domain name. In a reply, Name.com said it was “working with the owners of this domain to address this issue as quickly as possible.” Notion replied: “Could you let us know where you’re messaging us to address this?”

The now-partially deleted tweet thread noting the apparent Notion outage. (Image: TechCrunch)

In a statement shortly after its first tweet went out, Notion told TechCrunch: “We’re experiencing a DNS issue, causing the site to not resolve for many users. We are actively looking into this issue, and will update you with more information as we receive it via our status page on Twitter.”

Domain name servers, or DNS, is an important part of how the internet works. Every time you go to visit a website, your browser uses a DNS server to convert web addresses to machine-readable IP addresses to locate where a web page is located on the internet. But if a website or its DNS server is not configured correctly, it can cause the website not to load.

It appears a misconfiguration on @NotionHQ’s domain is causing a site-wide outage

The https://t.co/JfK06CSXK0 domain currently resolves to nothing pic.twitter.com/VLn8GBHe52

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) February 12, 2021

It’s not clear exactly who is responsible for the DNS issue. When reached, a spokesperson for Name.com did not immediately comment, and Sonic.so, the Somali-based registrar that oversees the .so country-code top level domain which Notion relies on, did not return a request for comment.

We’ll update once we know more.

Read more on TechCrunch:



- Cloud Report 2021 — Benchmarking Performance & Cost: GCP vs. AWS. vs. Azure

Fri Feb 12 2021 15:15:31 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

The 2021 Cloud Report is the only cloud performance report to compare AWS, Azure, and GCP on benchmarks that reflect critical applications and workloads.

Read the report from Cockroach Labs to learn:

About the Report: The annual Cockroach Labs Cloud Report benchmarks AWS, Azure, and Google against each other, compiling results from over 1,000 microbenchmark tests. The big three are benchmarked on: CPU performance, network throughput and latency, storage read/write performance, and the TPC-C database benchmark.

The post Cloud Report 2021 — Benchmarking Performance & Cost: GCP vs. AWS. vs. Azure appeared first on Datanami.



- Luksusfellen truer Norge. Hva skal vi gjøre for å unngå den?

Fri Feb 12 2021 15:14:18 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- How to launch a federated learning program

Fri Feb 12 2021 15:11:15 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)


A walk-through of the process: From building a test case to getting buy-in from data owners to building out your system.Read More



- How to know if federated learning should be part of your data strategy

Fri Feb 12 2021 15:10:01 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)


Federated learning lets you deploy AI in situations where data privacy or confidentiality concerns currently block adoption.Read More



- VM-drømmen ble knust - så sikret han norsk gull

Fri Feb 12 2021 15:06:24 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Norsk dobbelt-nedtur på lagtempo

Fri Feb 12 2021 15:04:25 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Gir seg selv et halvt år på å «få til» RBK

Fri Feb 12 2021 15:02:44 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Ti biler involvert i to kjedekollisjoner på E6 – lange køer

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:54:07 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- 168.000 nordmenn planlegger å dra utenlands i vinterferien

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:46:24 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Svensk gull etter norsk VM-nedtur

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:35:31 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is NPD’s 20th best-selling game ever

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:34:57 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Frank Woods goes into the woods in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.


Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is one of the fastest-selling games ever in the United States, according to The NPD Group.Read More



- Dette er supergitaristen Knut Reiersruds beste kjøp

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:32:54 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Ember names former Dyson head as consumer CEO, as the startup looks beyond the smart mug

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:22:51 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Ember today announced that founder Clay Alexander will transition to Group CEO effective February 16. In his place, the Los Angeles-based smart mug company is bringing on Jim Rowan as Consumer CEO. The executive served as CEO of Dyson from 2017 to 2020, after five years as COO.

It’s a big get for a relatively small company like Ember, which is best known for its smart, heated mugs. Founded in 2012, the hardware startup most recently raised a $20 million Series D in early 2019, bringing its total funding up to just shy of $50 million.

Alexander’s continued role at the company points to additional categories for Ember beyond consumer. “When I founded Ember, I knew there were endless applications for our temperature control technology and with Jim joining our team, we’ll be able to focus on our emerging healthcare vertical and use our technology to help improve and even save lives,” the exec said in a statement.

Courtesy of clever technology and smart design, the company has built a pretty sizable footprint for what might otherwise be a fairly niche product, expanding retail sales to Target, Costco, Best Buy and Starbucks, among others. The startup has done so while maintaining a low headcount of around 100 staffers.

“They have great IP, great design and great innovation, all around precise temperature control,” Rowan said in an interview with TechCrunch. “Obviously that started with the temperature control mugs and flasks, but that IP lends itself to so many other application. For me, that golden thread of being able to use that in myriad of different industries and markets is really, really exciting. One of them, of course, is the cold chain, which has become a lot more important since the beginning of the pandemic. That’s a good indication of how you can disrupt and innovate in new markets.

Rowan has previously served as the COO of BlackBerry and as a senior exec at Flextronics. After exiting Dyson, he joined both PCH International and KKR as an advisor. It’s Dyson, however, that provides the most direct analogy for what the executive hoping to do at Ember. At its core, Dyson is a company that moves air. That translates to vacuums, fans, hairdryers and myriad other product categories.

The underlying question is how Ember’s proprietary heating and cooling tech can translate to other fields. On an industrial level, it means, potentially, helping keep foodstuff and medicine at a predetermined temperate while shipping in the international cold chain. It also means additional consumer products built around the same underlying tech.

“There will be a lot more products that come out, beyond the current mugs and travel mugs,” Rowan says. “There’s a whole bunch of new products which are in the consumer pipeline and will launch in the next year or couple of years. And then you have the expansion into new geographies with existing products.”

That largely means Asia (Rowan will remain based in Singapore) and Europe. Thus far Ember’s footprint has been U.S.-centric, though a push toward online commerce amid the pandemic has helped expand it some. There does, however, remain a question of how high the ceiling is on adoption for a $130 electric smart mug. Ember has yet to release any actual numbers, and Rowan, whose experience at Dyson has more than familiarized him with selling premium products at a premium price point, isn’t ready to commit to a lower price point or less premium take on the space.

It’s worth noting, of course, that low end of the mug category is ready available at your local 99 cent store, and that’s not likely a space Ember is raring to compete in. And certainly those products — unlike its current lineup — likely wouldn’t end up in Apple Stores. Instead, it seems likely the company will continue a play as a premium consumer brand into additional categories at a more rapid pace. “The actual technology can expand into a whole bunch of new areas beyond just beverages because of the temperature control technology,” Rowan said.

Ember just raised $13 million for its popular, temperature-controlled mugs



- With a reported deal in the wings for Joby Aviation, electric aircraft soars to $10B business

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:20:19 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

One year after nabbing $590 million from investors led by Toyota, and a few months after picking up Uber’s flying taxi businessJoby Aviation is reportedly in talks to go public in a SPAC deal that would value the electric plane manufacturer at nearly $5.7 billion.

News of a potential deal comes on the heels of another big SPAC transaction in electric planes, for Archer Aviation. If the Financial Times‘ reporting is accurate, then that would mean that the two will soon be publicly traded at a total value approaching $10 billion.

It’s a heady time for startups making vehicles powered by anything other than hydrocarbons, and the SPAC wave has hit it hard.

Electric car companies Arrival, Canoo, ChargePoint, Fisker, Lordstown Motors, Proterra and The Lion Electric Company are some of the companies that have merged with SPACs — or announced plans to — in the past year.

Now it appears that any company that has anything to do with the electrification of any mode of transportation is going to get waved onto the runway for a public listing through a special purpose acquisition company vehicle — a wildly popular route at the moment for companies that might find traditional IPO listings more challenging to carry out but would rather not stay in startup mode when it comes to fundraising.

The investment group reportedly taking Joby to the moon! out to public markets is led by the billionaire tech entrepreneurs and investors Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, and Mark Pincus, who launched the casual gaming company, Zynga.

Together the two men had formed Reinvent Technology Partners, a special purpose acquisition company, earlier in 2020. The shell company went public and raised $690 million to make a deal.

Any transaction for Joby would be a win for the company’s backers including Toyota, Baillie Gifford, Intel Capital, JetBlue Technology Ventures (the investment arm of the US-based airline), and Uber, which invested $125 million into Joby.

Joby has a prototype that has already taken 600 flights, but has yet to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. And the success of any transaction between the company and Hoffman and Pincus’ SPAC group is far from a sure thing, as the FT noted.

The deal would require an additional capital infusion into the SPAC that the two men established, and without that extra cash, all bets are off. Indeed, that is probably one reason why anyone is reading about this now.

Alternatively powered transportation vehicles of all stripes and covering all modes of travel are the rage right now among the public investment crowd. Part of that is due to rising pressure among institutional investors to find companies with an environmental, sustainability, and good governance thesis that they can invest in, and part of that is due to tailwinds coming from government regulations pushing for the decarbonization of fleets in a bid to curb global warming.

The environmental impact is one chief reason that United chief executive Scott Kirby cited when speaking about his company’s $1 billion purchase order from the electric plane company that actually announced it would be pursuing a public offering through a SPAC earlier this week.

“By working with Archer, United is showing the aviation industry that now is the time to embrace cleaner, more efficient modes of transportation,” Kirby said. “With the right technology, we can curb the impact aircraft have on the planet, but we have to identify the next generation of companies who will make this a reality early and find ways to help them get off the ground.”

It’s also an investment in a possible new business line that could eventually shuttle United passengers to and from an airport, as TechCrunch reported earlier. United projected that a trip in one of Archer’s eVTOL aircraft could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 50% per passenger traveling between Hollywood and Los Angeles International Airport.

The agreement to go public and the order from United Airlines comes less than a year after Archer Aviation came out of stealth. Archer was co-founded in 2018 by Adam Goldstein and Brett Adcock, who sold their software-as-a-service company Vettery to The Adecco Group for more than $100 million. The company’s primary backer was Marc Lore, who sold his company Jet.com to Walmart in 2016 for $3.3 billion. Lore was Walmart’s e-commerce chief until January.

For any SPAC investors or venture capitalists worried that they’re now left out of the EV plane investment bonanza, take heart! There’s still the German tech developer, Lilium. And if an investor is interested in supersonic travel, there’s always Boom.



- AaFK har hatt tre internkamper på litt over en uke: – Ser sakte, men sikkert bedre ut

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:19:38 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Advanced Screensaver Factory Creates Stunning Screensavers And Is Built In Delphi

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:19:00 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Økokrim har siktet og pågrepet en fjerde person i konkurssak

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:18:37 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- 6 Best Python GUI Frameworks in 2021

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:18:00 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- U.S. console sales just had the best January in more than a generation

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:16:57 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Animal Crossing is a generation-defining hit for Nintendo.


Console sales set a new record as the Switch outsold the supply-constrained Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.Read More



- Everton-spiss skadet – kan blir mer spilletid for Joshua King

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:09:54 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Toppscorer forlater Molde – klar for 1. divisjonsklubb

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:09:38 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Dette stedet fikk sekser på første forsøk

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:07:43 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Hvis en journalist gjør en dårlig jobb, er det neppe fordi hun mener noe

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:03:27 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Game accessory sales set new January record at $222 million

Fri Feb 12 2021 14:00:38 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Sony PlayStation 5 controller, the DualSense.


Game accessory sales set a January record thanks to raging consumer enthusiasm for all kinds of game spending.Read More



- January 2021 NPD: Nintendo games and holiday hits lead surging sales

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:58:57 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Miles makin' moolah.


The new generation of consoles is fueling growth across all gaming categories in the United States. Hardware saw a 144% year-over-year surge, but software also grew 36%, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. “January 2021 consumer spending across video game hardware, content,and accessories reached a January record $4.7 billion,…Read More



- Gir klarsignal til å reise på vinterferie og kom med gode nyheter om vaksiner

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:55:18 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Tromsø-løper imponerte i VM

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:39:59 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Svenskene gir Norge juling i skiskyting

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:37:53 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Hun kan komme inn i Brann-styret. Nå kritiserer Giske klubbens håndtering av kunstgressaken.

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:31:29 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Hver morgen kjører Vy tog mellom Halden og Göteborg – uten passasjerer

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:29:56 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Enable User-Friendly Diagramming, Flowcharting, And Graphing Capabilities In Your Windows Applications

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:19:04 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

TMS Software offers commercial components and libraries for RAD Studio developers from UI components to cloud computing libraries. One of the best UI component suites is the FNC Blox which is a set of cross-platform controls for Delphi & C++ Builder to easily add user-friendly flowcharting, diagramming, and graphing capabilities to your applications.

TMS FNC Blox has its panel-like component where users can build diagrams by inserting different sized lines and blocks even it is easy to link them. And the best part is you can drag and drop components in real-time as a user.

embarcadero-delphi-c-builder-tms-fnc-blox-5338108

Best features of the TMS FNC Blox :

// Panning mode

procedure TForm1.StartPanningButtonClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
  TMSFNCBloxControl1.Presenter.StartPanning;
end;

procedure TForm1.CancelPanningButtonClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
  TMSFNCBloxControl1.Presenter.CancelPanning;
end;

// Loading and saving a diagram

TMSFNCBloxControl1.SaveToFile('MyBlox1.blox');
TMSFNCBloxControl1.LoadFromFile('MyBlox2.blox');

TMSFNCBloxControl1.SaveToStream(AStream);
TMSFNCBloxControl1.LoadFromStream(AStream);

Be sure to head over and check out the TMS FNC Blox component suite on GetIt portal and download them from the IDE

embarcadero-technologies-delphi-and-c-builder-tms-fnc-blox-3260411



- RBK endrer opplegget: Drar på ny treningsleir til Frøya

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:17:02 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- G4 will bring back Adam Sessler for X-Play and Kevin Pereira for Attack of the Show!

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:15:45 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

G4 is rebooting its talent with the veterans and the noobs.


G4 is bringing back its video game broadcast network, and now it has named hosts for its announced X-Play and Attack of the Show! programs.Read More



- Fikk gjennomgå på sosiale medier etter omdiskutert spurt. Nå tas hun i forsvar.

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:15:33 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Christiansen har sagt ja - gjør comeback som styreleder i Viking

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:10:07 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Ingen alvorlig skade for Mørk

Fri Feb 12 2021 13:01:31 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Easily Identify Network Connections By Process In Your Windows Apps With This Excellent Component Suite

Fri Feb 12 2021 12:34:02 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Sometimes Developers may need to monitor the network connections by process running in a machine programmatically. How to list down the network connections between local and remote address, ports , protocol, status etc. ? Don’t know how to do. Don’t worry. MiTec’s System Information Management Suite’s component helps to identify easily and we will learn how to use the thread TNetConMonThread to demonstrate the established connections by a process in this post.

Platforms: Windows.

Installation Steps:  

You can easily install this Component Suite from GetIt Package Manager. The steps are as follows.

  1. Navigate In RAD Studio IDE->Tools->GetIt Package Manager->select Components in Categories->Components->Trail -MiTec system Information Component Suite 14.3 and click Install Button.
  2. Read the license and Click Agree All. An Information dialog saying ‘Requires a restart of RAD studio at the end of the process. Do you want to proceed? click yes and continue.
  3. It will download the plugin and installs it. Once installed Click Restart now.

How to run the Demo app: 

Components used in MSIC NetCon Demo App:

Implementation Details:

procedure TwndMain.RefreshList;
var
  i,c: Integer;
  vp: Integer;
  SInfo: TScrollInfo;
  r: TRect;
  p: TNetConRecord;
  s: string;
  vi: TVersionInfo;
begin
  SInfo.cbSize:=SizeOf(SInfo);
  SInfo.fMask:=SIF_ALL;
  GetScrollInfo(List.Handle,SB_VERT,SInfo);
  vp:=SInfo.nPos;
  List.Items.BeginUpdate;
  try
    List.Items.Clear;
    c:=FNCM.RecordCount;
    for i:=0 to c-1 do begin
      FNCM.GetRecord(i,p);
      p.ProcessName:=GetProcessName(p.PID);
      FNCM.SetProcess(i,p.ProcessName,vi,-1);
      with List.Items.Add do begin
        Caption:=Format('%s (%d)',[p.ProcessName,p.PID]);
        if not IsAddressNull(p.LocalAddress) then
          SubItems.Add(p.LocalAddressString)
        else
          SubItems.Add(MachineName);
        if p.LocalPort>0 then
          SubItems.Add(IntToStr(p.LocalPort))
        else
          SubItems.Add('');
        if not IsAddressNull(p.RemoteAddress) then
          SubItems.Add(p.RemoteAddressString)
        else if SameText('UDP',p.Protocol) then
          SubItems.Add('')
        else
          SubItems.Add(MachineName);
        if p.RemotePort>0 then
          SubItems.Add(IntToStr(p.RemotePort))
        else
          SubItems.Add('');
        s:=p.Protocol;
        if p.Typ=AF_INET6 then
          s:=s+'6';
        SubItems.Add(s);
        if SameText('TCP',p.Protocol) then
          case p.State of
            MIB_TCP_STATE_CLOSED: SubItems.Add('Closed');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_LISTEN: SubItems.Add('Listen');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_SYN_SENT: SubItems.Add('SYN sent');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_SYN_RCVD: SubItems.Add('SYN received');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_ESTAB: SubItems.Add('Established');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_FIN_WAIT1: SubItems.Add('FIN wait 1');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_FIN_WAIT2: SubItems.Add('FIN wait 2');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_CLOSE_WAIT: SubItems.Add('Close wait');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_CLOSING: SubItems.Add('Closing');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_LAST_ACK: SubItems.Add('Last ACK');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_TIME_WAIT: SubItems.Add('Time wait');
            MIB_TCP_STATE_DELETE_TCB: SubItems.Add('Delete TCB');
            else SubItems.Add('Unknown');
          end
        else
          SubItems.Add('');
      end;
    end;
  finally
    List.Items.EndUpdate;
  end;
  if List.Items.Count>0 then begin
    List.Items.BeginUpdate;
    try
      r:=List.Items[0].DisplayRect(drBounds);
      List.Scroll(0,vp*(r.Bottom-r.Top));
    finally
      List.Items.EndUpdate;
    end;
  end;
  sb.Panels[0].Text:=Format('%d item(s)',[List.Items.Count]);
end;
netconthreaddemo-1704168
MiTeC Network Connections Demo

It’s that simple to monitor network connections established in your machine and view the details of the connections. Use this MiTeC component suite and get the job done with less code.

Head over and check out the full MiTec System Information Management Suite for Access System Information for Windows in Delphi Applications



- Video: FirePower X Is A Powerful Cross-Platform Desktop Component Suite For Delphi FireMonkey

Fri Feb 12 2021 12:13:03 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

In this webinar, Embarcadero Delphi MVP Ian Barker writes and deploys an app that targets Windows, macOS, and Linux from one set of code using just Delphi 10.4 and the FirePower components from Woll2Woll software. Roy Woll (from Woll2Woll) will be taking part in a live Q & A session with Ian after the demonstration to answer your questions plus attendees can get a coupon for a discount on the Woll2Woll components demonstrated.

According to the developer, “Woll2Woll Firepower has tremendous advantages as it comes with the most intuitive and powerful components for RAD Studio FireMonkey. You can build one powerful and expressive app that runs smoothly on all your devices: iPhones and iPads, Android phones and tablets, Linux Systems (using FMXLinux), and MacBooks and Windows computers. You’ll be amazed how quickly you can develop without compromising on performance and capabilities. Not only will your user interface be intuitive and fast for each platform, it will be so much more effortless and enjoyable to develop. FirePower comes with expressive grids, edit controls, list boxes, combos, searching and filtering, validation rules, record panels, mobile extensions, enhanced sharing services, activity dialogs, and so much more.”

Head over and download FirePower from Woll2Woll and try it out for yourself in your cross-platform apps.



- Datadog bolsters app security and observability data with Sqreen and Timber acquisitions

Fri Feb 12 2021 10:58:51 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Datadog


Datadog announced plans to acquire app security startup Sqreen and the acquisition of observability data startup Timber Technologies.Read More



- Jack Dorsey and Jay Z invest 500 BTC to make Bitcoin ‘internet’s currency’

Fri Feb 12 2021 10:51:25 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey and rapper Jay Z have created an endowment to fund bitcoin development initially in Africa and India, Dorsey said Friday.

The duo is putting 500 bitcoin, which is currently worth $23.6 million, in the endowment called ₿trust. The fund will be set up as a blind irrevocable trust, Dorsey said, adding that the duo won’t be giving any direction to the team.

₿trust is looking to hire three board members. The mission of the fund is to “make bitcoin the internet’s currency,” a job application describes.

Government in India has so far been reluctant to embrace bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Friday’s move comes as New Delhi is inching closer to introduce a law that would ban private cryptocurrencies in the nation. It is also looking to create its own digital currency.

“Even though India is the software development capital of the world, we haven’t contributed to bitcoin core development in any significant way,” explained Varun Deshpande, co-founder of OnJuno, which is building a digital banking platform from India for Asian Americans, to TechCrunch.

“India always had the skills to contribute but lacked the right incentives. Today’s initiative is even more significant since it provides the right incentives for developers from the world’s largest democracy to contribute and have a say in bitcoin’s protocol development and bring in a diversity of thoughts in shaping the future of money. The irony is as India prepares a bill to ban bitcoin in India, the world is turning to our massive technical talent in India to secure and safeguard the bitcoin network.”

Africa, most especially Nigeria, on the other hand, has experienced a surge in cryptocurrency transactions in recent years. Last year, Nigerians traded more than $500 million worth of cryptocurrency on major local crypto exchanges, and the country is only second to the US in terms of volume of bitcoin traded in the last five years.

Africans that trade cryptocurrencies rely on them because they offer protection against currency devaluation and for value exchange during cross-border transactions. In Nigeria, bitcoin trading became ubiquitous last year during the #EndSARS protests that rocked the country. When donations for the protests began to flow from all parts of the country and in the diaspora, the Nigerian government shut down the bank accounts used for this effort. But bitcoin became a lifeline keeping the crowdfunding activities alive.

Since then, there have been growing concerns that the Nigerian government had intentions to regulate cryptocurrency in the country. Last week, those doubts were actualized as the country’s apex bank gave a directive to banks and financial institutions from dealing in cryptocurrency or facilitating payments for cryptocurrency exchange platforms.

Dorsey has long supported the adoption of cryptocurrency. Square already supports bitcoin and last year acquired about $50 million worth of bitcoin for its corporate treasury, and Twitter is studying the potential use of bitcoin to pay its employees and vendors.

In an interview with CNBC earlier this week, Twitter Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal said, “We’ve done a lot of the upfront thinking to consider how we might pay employees should they ask to be paid in bitcoin, how we might pay a vendor if they ask to be [paid] in bitcoin and whether we need to have bitcoin on our balance sheet should that happen. It’s something we continue to study and look at, we want to be thoughtful about over time, but we haven’t made any changes yet.”

Many high-profile industry executives have called for nations to embrace bitcoin. Balaji Srinivasan, an angel investor and entrepreneur who previously served as the Chief Technology Officer of Coinbase, earlier this month made a case for why India should embrace bitcoin.

“India has the talent to pull this off. Such a move would make international headlines, attract global support from the world’s technologists and financiers, differentiate India from the increasingly zero-sum economic policies pushed by America and China, and put the country at the forefront of a trillion dollar industry,” he wrote, envisioning the potential unblocking bitcoin would create for India.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Kenya said this week that it will use bitcoin as a reserve currency amid the Kenyan Shilling volatility against the dollar. Last year, the country was only second to Nigeria in bitcoin trading in Africa. Dorsey’s plan is a follow up on his visit to the continent in 2019 when amid meeting with key political and tech stakeholders, made a startling reference to the continent’s budding cryptocurrency usage. “Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!),” he said at the time.

Tesla buys $1.5B in bitcoin, may accept the cryptocurrency as payment in the future



- Sweden’s data watchdog slaps police for unlawful use of Clearview AI

Fri Feb 12 2021 10:21:45 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Sweden’s data protection authority, the IMY, has fined the local police authority €250,000 ($300k+) for unlawful use of the controversial facial recognition software, Clearview AI, in breach of the country’s Criminal Data Act.

As part of the enforcement the police must conduct further training and education of staff in order to avoid any future processing of personal data in breach of data protection rules and regulations.

The authority has also been ordered to inform people whose personal data was sent to Clearview — when confidentiality rules allow it to do so, per the IMY.

Its investigation found that the police had used the facial recognition tool on a number of occasions and that several employees had used it without prior authorization.

Earlier this month Canadian privacy authorities found Clearview had breached local laws when it collected photos of people to plug into its facial recognition database without their knowledge or permission.

Clearview AI ruled ‘illegal’ by Canadian privacy authorities

“IMY concludes that the Police has not fulfilled its obligations as a data controller on a number of accounts with regards to the use of Clearview AI. The Police has failed to implement sufficient organisational measures to ensure and be able to demonstrate that the processing of personal data in this case has been carried out in compliance with the Criminal Data Act. When using Clearview AI the Police has unlawfully processed biometric data for facial recognition as well as having failed to conduct a data protection impact assessment which this case of processing would require,” the Swedish data protection authority writes in a press release.

The IMY’s full decision can be found here (in Swedish).

“There are clearly defined rules and regulations on how the Police Authority may process personal data, especially for law enforcement purposes. It is the responsibility of the Police to ensure that employees are aware of those rules,” added Elena Mazzotti Pallard, legal advisor at IMY, in a statement.

The fine (SEK2.5M in local currency) was decided on the basis of an overall assessment, per the IMY, though it falls quite a way short of the maximum possible under Swedish law for the violations in question — which the watchdog notes would be SEK10M. (The authority’s decision notes that not knowing the rules or having inadequate procedures in place are not a reason to reduce a penalty fee so it’s not entirely clear why the police avoided a bigger fine.)

The data authority said it was not possible to determine what had happened to the data of the people whose photos the police authority had sent to Clearview — such as whether the company still stored the information. So it has also ordered the police to take steps to ensure Clearview deletes the data.

The IMY said it investigated the police’s use of the controversial technology following reports in local media.

Just over a year ago, US-based Clearview AI was revealed by the New York Times to have amassed a database of billions of photos of people’s faces — including by scraping public social media postings and harvesting people’s sensitive biometric data without individuals’ knowledge or consent.

European Union data protection law puts a high bar on the processing of special category data, such as biometrics.

Ad hoc use by police of a commercial facial recognition database — with seemingly zero attention paid to local data protection law — evidently does not meet that bar.

Last month it emerged that the Hamburg data protection authority had instigating proceedings against Clearview following a complaint by a German resident over consentless processing of his biometric data.

The Hamburg authority cited Article 9 (1) of the GDPR, which prohibits the processing of biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, unless the individual has given explicit consent (or for a number of other narrow exceptions which it said had not been met) — thereby finding Clearview’s processing unlawful.

However the German authority only made a narrow order for the deletion of the individual complainant’s mathematical hash values (which represent the biometric profile).

It did not order deletion of the photos themselves. It also did not issue a pan-EU order banning the collection of any European resident’s photos as it could have done and as European privacy campaign group, noyb, had been pushing for.

noyb is encouraging all EU residents to use forms on Clearview AI’s website to ask the company for a copy of their data and ask it to delete any data it has on them, as well as to object to being included in its database. It also recommends that individuals who finds Clearview holds their data submit a complaint against the company with their local DPA.

European Union lawmakers are in the process of drawing up a risk-based framework to regulate applications of artificial intelligence — with draft legislation expected to be put forward this year although the Commission intends it to work in concert with data protections already baked into the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Earlier this month the controversial facial recognition company was ruled illegal by Canadian privacy authorities — who warned they would “pursue other actions” if the company does not follow recommendations that include stopping the collection of Canadians’ data and deleting all previously collected images.

Clearview said it had stopped providing its tech to Canadian customers last summer.

It is also facing a class action lawsuit in the U.S. citing Illinois’ biometric protection laws.

Last summer the UK and Australian data protection watchdogs announced a joint investigation into Clearview’s personal data handling practices. That probe is ongoing.

Clearview AI landed a new facial recognition contract with ICE

Europe sets out plan to boost data reuse and regulate ‘high risk’ AIs

 



- Freebie Friday: Windows version info

Fri Feb 12 2021 10:04:09 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Planning / Scheduling in FMX

Fri Feb 12 2021 09:58:01 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Microsoft: Windows 10 1909 reaches end of service in May

Fri Feb 12 2021 08:53:53 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- DelphiおよびC++ Builder開発者の生産性を10倍向上させる強力なJEDIコードライブラリ

Fri Feb 12 2021 06:00:00 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

DelphiとC++BuilderのVCLコミュニティ規模は非常に大きいため、開発者がすぐに再利用可能な様々なライブラリ、関数、非ビジュアルクラスのセットを見つけることができます。

その中で人気のあるライブラリの一つにJEDI Code Library (JCL) があります。このライブラリは、JEDIコミュニティから寄贈されたコードをベースに構築されており、文字列、ファイル、セキュリティ、演算、I/Oなどのカテゴリで、すぐに再利用可能なユーティリティ関数や非ビジュアルクラスを提供しています。

そして充実したドキュメントの提供、テストも万全です。

uses
  JclFileUtils, JclStrings, JclSysUtils;
 
{ TForm1 }
 
procedure TForm1.FileListBox1Change(Sender: TObject);
var
  FileName: TFileName;
  I: Integer;
begin
  FileName := FileListBox1.FileName;
  Memo1.Lines.BeginUpdate;
  try
    Memo1.Lines.Clear;
 
    if VersionResourceAvailable(FileName) then
      with TJclFileVersionInfo.Create(FileName) do
      try
        for I := 0 to LanguageCount - 1 do
        begin
          LanguageIndex := I;
          Memo1.Lines.Add(Format('[%s] %s', [LanguageIds[I], LanguageNames[I]]));
          Memo1.Lines.Add(StringOfChar('-', 80));
          Memo1.Lines.AddStrings(Items);
          Memo1.Lines.Add(BinFileVersion);
          Memo1.Lines.Add(OSIdentToString(FileOS));
          Memo1.Lines.Add(OSFileTypeToString(FileType, FileSubType));
          Memo1.Lines.Add('');
        end;
        Memo1.Lines.Add('Translations:');
        for I := 0 to TranslationCount - 1 do
          Memo1.Lines.Add(VersionLanguageId(Translations[I]));
        Memo1.Lines.Add(BooleanToStr(TranslationMatchesLanguages));
      finally
        Free;
      end;
 
  finally
    Memo1.Lines.EndUpdate;
  end;
end;

JEDI Code Libraryの入手

JEDI Code Libraryは、GetItパッケージマネージャを開いて、検索ボックスから”JEDI”というキーワードで検索すると見つかりますので、これを選択してインストールすることができます。

jedi-code-library-getit-ja-4633017

JEDI Code Libraryは、Mozilla Public License(MPL)の条件に基づいて一般にリリースされているため、フリーウェア、シェアウェア、オープンソースおよび商用プロジェクトなど自由に使用できます。なお、エンバカデロではこのライブラリに関するテクニカルサポートサービスは提供しておりません。



- Melbourne Meeting – February 2021

Fri Feb 12 2021 04:18:57 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Melbourne Meeting – February 2021

Fri Feb 12 2021 04:18:57 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Powered By Delphi: Impressive Ramengo Bike App For Fitness Activities

Fri Feb 12 2021 03:24:01 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

With Ramengo Bike you can view your data activities in real-time, like a real bike computer. You can view the details about the distances, times, speeds, pedaling cadence, heart rates, the route on a geographical map, graphic activity, the gradients of the track set, and more. The Android app is developed in Delphi.

According to the developer and the info listed on Google Play, “Using GPS and Bluetooth sensors for heart rate and speed / cadence, you can view”

Website

Ramengo Bike

Google Play

Ramengo Bike

Screenshot Gallery

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Submit your own showcase app to the Delphi 26th Birthday Showcase Challenge!



- Notable Vov Sticky Notes Productivity App Is Delphi Powered

Fri Feb 12 2021 03:17:43 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

For many people, the desktop is simply the place where shortcuts and icons are located, without any real functionality. Nonetheless, you can benefit from all the empty space on your desktop by adding post-its, and Vov Sticky Notes is one of the apps that can help you do that and it is developed with Delphi. According to the developer, “Once you install it on your PC, the application automatically goes to the system tray, and you can right-click its icon when you want to create a new note. It basically opens a resizable window where you can paste text or start typing some of your important tasks. You can also drag and drop image files. Another handy function of Vov Sticky Notes is that you can create reminders to be displayed on a regular basis. You only need to choose the frequency interval, and then enter an appropriate message.” This is a nice looking Delphi app for sure.

Website

Vov Sticky Notes

Screenshot Gallery

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- Impressive RightNote Organizer Software Is Made In Delphi

Fri Feb 12 2021 03:14:23 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

RightNote is a modern, tree based, information manager and notes organizer, that will help you keep on top of information overload and it is developed in Delphi. According to the developer, “You can easily store and file away, note clips of any kind, classify with tags, and then later find anything across all your notebooks with the super fast full text search engine. Packed with features and a modern and easy to use User Interface, RightNote puts all the information you need to deal with on a daily basis, at your finger tips.” I like the dark and light themes they use here.

Features include:

Website

RightNote

Screenshot Gallery

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Submit your own showcase app to the Delphi 26th Birthday Showcase Challenge!



- Fun Pebble Search Galet Pocket App Is Built With Delphi FireMonkey For Android

Fri Feb 12 2021 03:03:43 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Galet Pocket come from a local game in the developer’s area and it is built with Delphi. According to the developer, “parents and kid, find pebble draw on it and hide it. My app is simple, you can set the position of your pebble and find pebble hide by others users. I got 500 register user and around 1000 pebble hide in one week.” Galet Pocket is an application that allows you to find pebbles thanks to the location added by users. Once your pebbles are decorated, you can save them on Galet Pocket before you hide them. The app is available from Google Play on Android devices. It provides a nice use of mapping from within a Delphi FireMonkey app.

Website

Galet Pocket

Screenshot Gallery

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galetpocket2

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galetpocketdevice1

Submit your own showcase app to the Delphi 26th Birthday Showcase Challenge!



- Delphiによって構築された「MissMatch」は楽しいタイルマッチング型メモリパズルゲーム

Fri Feb 12 2021 03:00:01 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

MissMatchは、Delphiによって構築されたAndroid向けのメモリパズルゲームです。画面ショットからも分かるように、カラフルなインターフェイスと楽しいアイコンのアプリです。Google Playには、次のような説明が掲載されています。

「子供から大人まで、言語学習を簡単にする、楽しくてエキサイティングなフォトパズルゲームをお探しですか?この新しいフォトメモリーパズルは、マッチパズル体験を最大限に活用できるように設計されています。最高のタイルマッチングゲームの1つであるこのアプリを利用すれば、新しい単語や記号を簡単かつ効果的に学習することができます。」

このアプリの例で分かるように、Delphiで構築されたすべてのプロジェクトが極めて複雑でなければならないということではありません。Delphiを使用すれば、ビジュアルかつ魅力的でシンプルなアプリやゲームを、簡単に作成することができるのです。

Google Play

MissMatch – 新しい単語を学習するためのメモリパズル

画面ショットギャラリー



- Delphi Built: Magnificent iCell Technology Solutions Point Of Sale Software

Fri Feb 12 2021 02:59:37 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

iCell is a point of sale software suite including management studio. It was made to provide technology solutions to the hospitality and allied industries and it is built with Delphi. According to the developer, “Our software suite boosts company performance through flexible reporting and a host of other smarts.” They feature a number of point of sale hardware and software solutions on their website including additional peripherals. This kind of point of sale system software is a vertical where Delphi really shines.

Website

iCell Software

Screenshot Gallery

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smartmockups_kl1p6ouf-8277327



- HireTrack: A Fantastic Live Events Management Application Is Powered By Delphi

Fri Feb 12 2021 02:50:05 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

HireTrack is an award winning rental & production management application for the Live Events industry and it is developed with Delphi. According to the developer, “HireTrack V1 was written in Delphi 1 used the BDE and was released in 1995, HireTrack V2, called HireTrack Eclipse was released in 1999 and was compiled in Delphi 5. Apart from refreshing the GUI, this was also a 32 bit update. HireTrack V3, called HireTrack NX was released in 2010. It was originally built in Delphi 5, but later was rebuilt in Delphi XE2 giving Unicode capability and the latest and current version was updated and built using Delphi Sydney. The BDE was replaced by the Nexus db engine. All versions have built on the previous version in terms of functionality and codebase but if you know where to look, there is still some code from the original version lurking about. HireTrack has had regular updates with bug fixes and new features – about 4 a year – since its first release 25 (and a half) years ago.”

Website

HireTrack

Screenshot Gallery

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hiretrack2

hiretrack3

hiretrack4

hiretrack5

hiretrack6

hiretrackdevice1

Submit your own showcase app to the Delphi 26th Birthday Showcase Challenge!



- PAT: An Incredible Process Analysis Tool Made In Delphi

Fri Feb 12 2021 02:47:56 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

PAT is an additional Tool for a BMS-System like PRIVA and it is developed in Delphi. According to the developer, it has the following functionality:

– Import / Export of Values via CSV, Excel, Database, MODBUS, XML or JSON
– Report-Designer incl. automatic creation of energy management-Reports
– Event-System
– Alarm / Message import and Statistic
– Web-Interface via UniGUI
– App for IOS and Android

The evaluation of measurement data for monitoring and energy values ​​is becoming increasingly important. These requirements are usually only inadequately met by the applications integrated in the GLS systems.

Website

PAT

Screenshot Gallery

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patapp2

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patapp4

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patapp6

patappdevice1

Submit your own showcase app to the Delphi 26th Birthday Showcase Challenge!



- Dynamic Univac 9200/9300 Emulator Is Built In Delphi

Fri Feb 12 2021 02:42:17 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Powerful software emulator for the Univac 9200/9300, including original Univac assembler, linker and utilities and it is built with Delphi. According to the developer, “The UNIVAC 9000 series (9200, 9300, 9400, 9700) was a line of computers introduced by Sperry Rand in the mid-1960s to compete with the low end of the IBM System/360 series. The 9200 and 9300 (which differed only in CPU speed) implemented the same restricted 16-bit subset of the System/360 instruction set as the IBM 360/20. This emulator implements a full 9200/9300 set of instructions, card reader, card punch, printer and Uniserver VIC tape drives. It includes the original Univac assembler, linker, RPG compiler and various utilities. A broad range of original Univac manuals is given, including a programmed instruction guide.”

Website

Univac Emulators

Screenshot Gallery

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Submit your own showcase app to the Delphi 26th Birthday Showcase Challenge!



- Delphi Built: Comalc Pro Is An Impressive Comtrade Data Analysis Software

Fri Feb 12 2021 02:38:56 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Comalc Pro imports data from a file, manipulates and converts the data into an equivalent forms, evaluates the quantities or expressions or logic based on the original or newly converted data, and exports results into format and it is built in Delphi. According to the developer, “Import/Export and perform advanced analysis on IEEE/IEC Comtrade file format data (e.g. user-defined complex-number and logical expression evaluations and plots including discrete/fast/cosine fourier/filter transforms to model power system and related protection behavior). Simultaneous display/zoom multi-file data quickly (e.g. 300k x 1k rows/cols of structured data).”

Website

Comalc Pro

Screenshot Gallery

comalcpro1 comalcpro2 comalcpro3 comalcpro4 comalcpro5 comalcpro6  comalcprodevice2

Submit your own showcase app to the Delphi 26th Birthday Showcase Challenge!



- Astounding Digital Audio Visual Workstation Usine Shows Versatility Of Delphi

Fri Feb 12 2021 02:34:01 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Usine is the ultimate Digital Workstation made for live, studio or installations and it is developed in Delphi. According to the developer, “the software can host VSTs/AU, process and route audio, MIDI, video, DMX, OSC and design personalized virtual control interfaces. Also it’s a modular environment, which means that, even if you can find many ready to use examples, the main goal is to create and customize your live set to fit it exactly to your needs. As a professional audio, video, and light modular software, Usine is different but finally you’ll realize that it is one of the most powerful software you can find.”

Website

Usine

Twitter

Sensomusicusine

Screenshot Gallery

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usineappdevice1

Submit your own showcase app to the Delphi 26th Birthday Showcase Challenge!



- Secret Chat in Telegram Left Self-Destructing Media Files On Devices

Fri Feb 12 2021 02:18:41 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)



- Delphiによって構築されたWindows向け個人情報マネージャー

Fri Feb 12 2021 01:00:04 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

doogiePIMは、Webブラウザーと個人情報マネージャーをひとつのレイアウトで利用できる非常にユニークな個人情報保管庫で、Delphiによって開発されています。ソフトウェアには、カレンダー、タスク、ブックマーク、連絡先、ドキュメント、資産管理、財務、スプレッドシート、電子メール、ブレーンストーミングノートボード、カスタムリソースの各セクションが組み込まれています。もちろん、組み込みWebブラウザーはChromiumエンジンベースで、日常使いのブラウザーとして機能します。これらの情報はすべて、単一のデータベースファイルに完全に暗号化して保管され、デザイナー、作家、その他のあらゆるクリエイターが、秘密情報をローカルに保持/管理できるように設計されています。

このプロジェクトが現在のバージョンに到達するまでに、実に4年以上の歳月を要しました。開発者によれば、「最初のアイデアは2003年に、『do-organizer』プロジェクトという名称でかたちになりました」とのことです。ライトテーマとダークテーマの双方を利用でき、素晴らしい外観を提供しています。

Webサイト

doogiePIM

画面ショットギャラリー



- Does SoftBank have 20 more DoorDashes?

Fri Feb 12 2021 00:51:47 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.

Natasha and Danny and Alex and Grace were all here to chat through the week’s biggest tech happenings. This week felt oddly comforting from a tech news perspective: Facebook is copying something, early-stage startup data is flawed enough to talk about and sweet DoorDash is buying robots for undisclosed sums.

So, here’s a rundown of the tech news we got into (as always, jokes aren’t previewed so you’ll have to listen to the actual show to get our critique and Award Winning Analysis*):

In good news, long-time Equity producer Chris Gates is back starting next week, which means we’ll have our biggest crew ever helping get the show put together. And, in other good news, there’s going to be more Equity than ever for you to hear. Coming soon.

Equity drops every Monday at 7:00 a.m. PST and Thursday afternoon as fast as we can get it out, so subscribe to us on Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotify and all the casts.

*OK, so not award-winning yet. But soon enough, because manifestation works.

PSA: Most aggregate VC trend data is garbage



- Best practices for Zoom board meetings at early-stage startups

Fri Feb 12 2021 00:10:47 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

The world has spent most of 2020 adapting to ever-changing guidelines and restrictions (with no end in sight, even as the vaccines start to roll out). Board meetings are quickly increasing in their significance to foster consistent and vital interactions as an organization. It’s essential for companies to capitalize on the essential time together during these uncertain times.

While we might look like the Brady Bunch while sharing a Zoom window, are you actually communicating more like the family from “Succession?”

Are your meetings organized? Do people talk over one another? Do you usually run over time? Are you giving people time to digest information?

As we move into 2021 and Q1 meetings are being put onto calendars, take some time to modernize how you conduct your board meetings.

Board meetings are quickly increasing in their significance to foster consistent and vital interactions as an organization.

Having served on public company boards, growth-stage businesses and Series A startups, an observation I have made in boards that are later stage are more about financial analysis and governance. Whereas earlier-stage board discussions hinge more on product strategy, key partnerships, sharing best practices to help develop founders as executives and important hiring decisions.

Since the nature of the discussions is more, let’s call it … creative in earlier-stage businesses, where the focus is on where they’ve been particularly impacted by reduced bandwidth for collaboration while meeting remotely.

As said best by Mike Maples and paraphrased by Jeff Bonforte — there are only four things a board really needs to consider:

Collecting data around those points is the job. In the meeting, the team can add color.

Remember the board works for you, so be sure to put them to work. Sharing materials with participants about three days ahead of time tends to be the best. Any later and they may not get enough time to digest, send earlier and the information might be out of date by the time you meet. It’s most common to format as a deck, but lately I’m seeing more written format and even magazine-style.

The number one request I get from early-stage companies is “help find me more customers.”

Other common requests are “help me find or land this type of talent, help me with industry benchmarks for this type of business deal or compensation structure, connect me to people that have experience with X so I can learn ways we could structure our process.” It’s helpful to put these asks in the materials you send ahead because sometimes board members might not be able to react quickly and now “homework” comes up spontaneously in the discussions.

Another purpose of these meetings is to build working relationships so when strategic decisions need to be made, board members are used to working together. Sometimes it is a forum for executives to gain exposure to board members and for board members to have the opportunity to evaluate and provide input on executives. For that reason execs are often invited to participate in certain discussions.

Like the product person who presents a roadmap or a market analysis, the head of sales should give color on pipeline and competitive deals, the marketing person may lead a discussion on ABM or channel marketing tactics, the engineering lead might ask for feedback on their metrics versus other companies, etc. Generally, CEOs also bring forth an interesting topic to have a discussion, such as channel strategy, market mapping/sizing, hiring plan and related issues.

Logistics

As far as logistics, we reserve two hours in calendars but we try to hit 90 minutes. I suggest something like this for a 90-minute session:



- Breaking up Big Tech: A solution in search of a problem

Thu Feb 11 2021 23:10:44 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

An illustration picture taken in London on December 18, 2020 shows the logos of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft displayed on a mobile phone and a laptop screen. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)


Big Tech firms don't fit the narrow definition of monopolies, but populism, and short-term thinking could force antitrust action anyway.Read More



- TechCrunch’s favorites from Techstars’ Boston, Chicago and workforce accelerators

Thu Feb 11 2021 23:06:10 GMT+0700 (Western Indonesia Time)

Building off TechCrunch’s coverage of the recent 500 Startups demo day, we’re back today to talk about some favorites from three more accelerator classes. This time we’re digging into Techstars’ latest three accelerator classes.

What follows are four favorites from the Techstars’ Boston, Chicago and “workforce development” programs. As a team we tuned into the accelerator live pitches and dug into recordings when we needed to.

As always, these are just our favorites, but don’t just take our word for it. Dig into the pitches yourself, as there’s never a bad time to check out some super-early-stage startups.

Four favs from Techstars Boston

Everyday Life